A study over the past year found high levels of toxic fumigants and other pesticides used near several schools in Santa Barbara County.

In its report “Too Close for Comfort,” the Central Coast Environmental Health Project (CCEHP), established by the Environmental Defense Center, included data compiled from June 2003 to February 2004. The report lists pesticides used in agricultural areas within a 1.5-mile radius around five schools - Adam Elementary, Bonita Elementary, Clarence Ruth Elementary, Kermit McKenzie Junior High and Miguelito Elementary - located in the Santa Maria, Lompoc and Guadalupe school districts.

“We saw high levels of use around these schools, and that wasn’t really surprising,” CCEHP director Eric C‡rdenas said. “What is really shocking is the fact that we have elementary schools smack-dab in the middle of acres and acres of fields, as is the case with Bonita. It’s shocking that schools are actually operating in these environments where pesticides are being used all around these kids.”

C‡rdenas said the CCEHP gathered its data from the state Dept. of Pesticide Regulation and the Santa Barbara County agricultural commissioner. Data collected included the health effects of the pesticides, their toxicity, the quantity in pounds of each pesticide applied and the crops each pesticide was used on.

The study found 183,372 pounds of pesticides at Bonita Elementary, 168,242 pounds at Adam Elementary, 130,554 pounds at Kermit McKenzie Junior High, 26,024 pounds at Clarence Ruth Elementary and 15,885 pounds at Miguelito Elementary.

“The most commonly used pesticides were the fumigants, which are the most dangerous pesticides because they are highly toxic and tend to drift easily because of their gas form,” C‡rdenas said. “Methyl bromide is the most toxic fumigant pesticide on the market today, and it is the most popular. It’s used in strawberry fields, which are a popular growth in the area.”

According to the CCEHP, a child will suffer more severe effects from pesticide ingestion than an adult who ingests the same amount of pesticides because of lower body weight. Children are also still developing the organs that filter out toxins, which allows the pesticides to remain in their bodies longer. Some long-term potential health risks of pesticides are cancer, reproductive damage, neurological disorders and a variety of other illnesses.

Some steps have already been taken to ensure the safety of children at schools located near farms. Santa Maria School District Superintendent David M. Francis said Bonita Elementary already has a long-standing agreement with neighboring farmers regarding the use of pesticides.

“We’ve had an agreement with them about what they can apply and when they can do it,” Francis said.

Francis said the results of the report will help resolve the problem,

“I think the ideas were certainly reasonable and [were] ones that would help the community at large,” Francis said. “I think the report was well done, and the recommendations are definitely doable.”

Francis also said the school district would consider the recommendations as a part of its annual assessment of the safety plan and emergency procedures in schools.

“Given the fact that we have a strong agricultural base here, it is in everybody’s interest to work together here,” Francis said.

Some recommendations for schools, parents, farms and elected officials are emergency plans for accidental pesticide exposure and “no spray” policies at certain times and in certain areas.

The Community Action Commission (CAC) of Santa Barbara, which provides resources such as child care to low-income families, has a preschool located at Adam Elementary.

“I support the recommendations, many of those which I understand to already being implemented, and it’s a great tool for educating ourselves and for planning our communities better,” CAC program assistant Mattie Gadsby said.

C‡rdenas said the first step to a solution is cooperation between all the parties involved.

“We are already meeting with schools, school districts, farmers and elected officials to see if any of our recommendations can be implemented in the county,” C‡rdenas said. “We want to work collaboratively with all players. We need farming to continue, we need to educate our kids, and knowing they will have to be side by side, we need to work together to address these issues. We can’t ignore them.”